Indians make it official, announce Brantley extension

CLEVELAND, OH - The Cleveland
Indians today announced the club has signed OF Michael Brantleyto a
four-year contract with a club option for the 2018 campaign.

Brantley, 26, has spent his
entire five-year Major League career with the Cleveland Indians since being
acquired from the Milwaukee Brewers following the 2008 season. The Port
St. Lucie native has been a member of the club's Opening Day lineup over each
of the last four seasons since 2010 and owns a career Major League batting
average of .277 (545-1968) with 100 doubles, 14 triples, 26 home runs and 212
RBI in 514 games. The reliable, hard-working Brantley has appeared in 300
of the club's 324 games (92.6%) over the past two seasons.

Michael is coming off his
finest season in 2013, batting a team-best .284 (158-556) with 66 runs scored,
26 doubles, 10 home runs and 73 RBI in 151 games. The 66 runs, 10 homers, 73
RBI and 17 stolen bases (21 attempts) all represented career-highs. After
shifting over to left field in February, Brantley registered a club-high 11
assists and did not make an error the entire season, carrying a club-record
245-game errorless streak into 2014. The left-handed hitter was a pivotal force
in the club's drive to the A.L. Wildcard, hitting .343 (34-98) with 14 RBI over
the season's final 26 games while his year-long .375 (45-120) mark with runners
in scoring position was third-highest in the A.L. In addition to his
outfield versatility, offensively he made starts in eight of the nine spots in
Terry Francona's batting order.

"Michael exemplifies the
qualities we look for when bringing people - not just athletes - into our
organization," said Cleveland Indians Executive Vice President and General
Manager Chris Antonetti. "He has a clear vision of the type of player he
wants to become and consistently exhibits the tireless work ethic, focus and
discipline necessary to achieve his goals and those of our team. In a
relatively short period of time, Michael has grown into a selfless leader who
sets an example for our younger players."